Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
Rows and floes of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way
But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way
I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all
Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way
But now it's just another show
You leave 'em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away
I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
It's love's illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all
Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say "I love you" right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way
But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
Well something's lost, but something's gained
In living every day
I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all
I've looked at life from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way
But now they only block the sun
They rain and snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way
I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all
Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way
But now it's just another show
You leave 'em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away
I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
It's love's illusions I recall
I really don't know love at all
Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say "I love you" right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way
But now old friends are acting strange
They shake their heads, they say I've changed
Well something's lost, but something's gained
In living every day
I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all
I've looked at life from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
The singer doesn't believe great things will just happen. Indeed, she makes some great things happen; she lived those "Moons and Junes and ferris wheels". They're not purely fantasy. Her disappointment comes when she later learns that love isn't always excitement and novelty, "And if you care", you don't let your loved ones know when you're just going through the motions.
The clouds aren't cynical philosophy. To her, in her innocence, they're only deeply marvelous constructs. In her adulthood, she gains a new perspective that they're annoying and inconvenient. There's nothing cynical about either view: some beautiful days you can sit in a field and marvel at the clouds, and some days bad weather will ruin your plans.
Furthermore, even in her adulthood, when she has these more complete, less innocent pictures of clouds, love, and life, the moments that she remembers best are the "illusions". Most people (including me) assume the illusions she's remembering are the fun bits, though there's nothing syntactically preventing "illusions" from instead referring to the not-so-fun bits. Either way, she suggests that to really know clouds, love, and life, you have to remember the complete picture; the up and down; the give and take; the win and lose. She sees that she doesn't tend to do that and therefore doesn't truly understand clouds, love, or life.
(But is that a bad thing? I think it's fine to dwell on the good stuff while being aware of the down sides, which seems to be what the singer does.)
I won't go into a diatribe against Objectivism. I will suggest that even though I disagree with much of your interpretation, you're obviously intelligent and from the way you write I suspect soulful enough to come up with a conclusion to what clouds, love, and life really are without relying on Ayn Rand's ideas, which is fitting considering the song talks about looking at things from a second perspective.
I logged on later that night and looked up the lyrics on this site. So much is going on in this song: Your innocence when exposed to things for the first time, then your experiences which can be sobering and then the realization that nothing is ever as simple or as pure as it might seem.
A beautiful song : melody, lyrics, meaning...
The innocent child looking up at the sky in wonderment and seeing ice-cream castles is looking at clouds from down below; later on in life you might fly over them in an aeroplane and by this time, being a bit more grown up, understand that they are just a weather phenomenon, there is no magic kingdom on the other side. Now you are looking at them from up above. So you have seen clouds from both sides - from down below as a child, from up above in an aeroplane. I think that sits nicely with the song's theme of innocence and excitement giving way to disappointment and cycnicism. And Joni has form when it comes to writing reflective melancholy songs about aeroplanes (This Flight Tonight)
It reminds me of the Zen monk who won a sports car. His friends said your lucky to win the car. But he went out and got in a crash. His friends said you are so unlucky to win the car. But he was in the hospital and his house was struck by lightning. If he had been home he would have surely been killed. His friends said he was so lucky to win the car. At what past moment was it "good" or "bad" to win the sports car for the monk? What future moment?
I just try to live my life and smile at the beautiful mystery of it all in each moment. This song captures this idea.